MCU (Avengers) Imagines Part Two

Nebula X Fem!Reader - If I Die Young (Requested)

A/N - This chapter was requested by user @Sadd_fruitsnacks: I ended up basing it around the song 'If I Die Young' by The Band Perry. I hope you all enjoy it.

You had been in space for 21 days when you had realised that you weren't going to make it home. At first, there had been this inkling of hope, hanging around in the back of your mind. You could make it back to Earth. You could go back to a normal life, and get married, and buy a house, and live to a ripe old age. But that tiny little marble of hope had faded, slowly drifting away until you had come to the realisation that, no matter how much you hoped and prayed, none of you were going anywhere. 

It wasn't fair really. Tony had stated as much on a few different occasions, whilst you were each trying to forget the growling in your stomachs. Sure, he deserved to go home too, but he was older, he'd lived a life. He'd been loved by Pepper, and he'd loved her back, more than anything else. But you, you'd never even come close to having a steady relationship, too busy with school and work to ever allow yourself to be vulnerable for long enough to be loved. You were a kid. You'd barely even lived. 

"I mean," he'd hummed one evening- or you'd assumed it was evening. Who could even tell at this point? -turning slightly to glance over at you. "Have you ever even had a proper boyfriend?"

A snort of laughter had slipped out of you, and you shook your head. "Nope," you murmured, letting your eyes fall closed as you released a soft breath. "I'm not straight."

"Oh." Part of you wished you could see the expression on his face. All wide eyes and surprise. But you didn't quite have the energy to look, letting your eyes stay closed. 

"I've never dated anyone, though, if that's what you're trying to ask," you hummed out, listening to him sigh. "I never really had time to think about it, you know?"

You heard a shuffling, peaking one eye open to see Nebula moving to sit against the wall across from you, offering a half-smile when she noticed you looking at her. 

"See, that's not fair, is it?" Tony uttered, drawing your attention back to him. "You're young and pretty, and you should be down on Earth meeting some perfect girl, not stuck up here with us-" He paused for a moment, his breathing shallow from the effort he'd put into his sentence. "I've done some real bad shit in my life. I deserve this. Neb?"

She turned to look at him. "I've done a lot of real bad shit," she answered the unasked question, copying his wording exactly, and a small frown pulled at your lips. 

"Y/N's the nicest kid I've ever met. Wants the best for everyone. Helps everyone. Never put a single toe out of line, or got in trouble," he paused, his eyes fixing on you for a moment. "You don't deserve this, and I never should've let you get involved in the first place."

Perhaps, if you'd been a little more hydrated, you would've cried. If you had a little more energy, you would've curled up into a ball and bawled, proper big sobs, until your head hurt. But you didn't, and all you could muster up was a small shrug. 

"I've had enough time, I guess-"

"Bullshit," Tony uttered, interrupting you. 

You shrugged again. "Not like anyone gets a choice, is it?" You paused for a moment, your eyes focusing on your hands, playing with your fingers in an attempt to keep your voice from wavering. "It sucks, but I mean, I can't do anything about it, can I?" It was then that a soft sob had broken free, your breaths becoming shaky. "I just wish I could tell my Mom that I love her-"

Your two companions remained silent as you attempted to pull yourself together, watching you carefully as you frantically wiped at the tears forming in your eyes. In the time that you had all been trapped together, you'd managed to hold in the displays of emotion. Crying wouldn't fix anything, and you couldn't bring yourself to waste the energy on it, but now it was like everything was clicking into place.

"Shit," you finally murmured, letting out a shaky breath as you let your head fall back against the wall behind you. "We're going to die up here, and no one's ever going to know what happened to us."

"The Ironman helmet still has storage space. You could record something for your mom-"

You shook your head, silencing him. "If she saw me like this-" you paused, your words falling off into nothing.  "She's better off not knowing."

Finally, you pushed yourself away from the wall, getting to your feet, your legs wobbling like you were at sea, and moving away from the group. But even when you were on your own, for the first time in what felt like forever, you couldn't help but replay Tony's words in your head: you should be down on Earth meeting some perfect girl, not stuck up here with us. It stung. And as you replayed it for what felt like the thousandth time, something clicked. 

Maybe, you weren't supposed to meet your perfect girl on Earth.

Ever since you'd been trapped, you'd gotten closer to Nebula, easing her into a more open and honest friendship. You wouldn't have believed it at the beginning, but she could be sweet, and caring, and even now, you could hear her fussing to Tony over whether she should come and check on you. Perhaps it was just proximity, or perhaps it was knowing that you were coming real close to dying, but you did feel something for her.

"Neb?" you called out, hearing her moving the second she recognised your voice.

Her face appeared in front of you a moment later, concern painted on her features. "Are you alright?"

You nodded, taking her hand and pulling her down to sit beside you. "I'm good now," you murmured, your head leaning heavily into her shoulder. 

"Tony's sleeping," she told you. "You should sleep too."

"No, I just want to sit here for a while." She nodded slightly, shifting to hold you a little better, so you'd be more comfortable. "I wish we had met earlier," you hummed, letting your eyes fall closed. "Wish we'd had more time."

Nebula sighed. "I know."

"It's not fair that I've just realised that I love you and now I have to die." You felt her body tense under yours, her arm tightening around you ever so slightly. "I mean-"

"I know," she repeated, listening to you let out a soft sigh. 

"Life is cruel, huh?"

Nebula paused for a moment, listening to you stifle a yawn. "Yes." 

You both went quiet for a moment, and then your body was softening, giving in to sleep, and Nebula was left contemplating your confession, as a bright light began to form in the darkness outside.

*Time Skip*

When you woke up, your entire body felt like it was going to give out on you. Your head was spinning, and your shoulders ached, and everything just felt wrong. And then, as your eyes had peeled themselves open, you'd realised that you weren't on the ship anymore.

You sat up rather suddenly, your body screaming with protest, pulling the tubes and wires taught, and only hesitating when you noticed the tangled mess connecting you to the bed. "Hello?" you called out, your voice thick and scratchy as it fought its way out of your dry throat. "Hello?" you tried again, this time, your voice was a little more powerful, louder, and the door immediately flew open, revealing Nebula. 

"I'm here," she started, moving closer and taking your hand in hers, squeezing it slightly, as you visibly calmed. "I'm here," she repeated, her voice soothing you. 

You let her settle you back onto the bed. "Where are we?"

A smile pulled at Nebula's features at that. "We're on Earth. They found us."

"My Mom-"

"She's on her way. I contacted her." You released a relieved sigh, allowing yourself to relax against the pillows. "I love you too, you know?" 

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